It’s no secret that I love shooting in-home sessions, but when you live in a city as beautiful as Chattanooga (I mean, it’s nickname is The Scenic City for crying out loud), you really can’t go wrong shooting just about anywhere. And bonus points if your clients are a) funloving and b) have an adorable ham for a kiddo.

Enjoy! xo

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Emily Lapish is a lifestyle photographer in Chattanooga, TN specializing in all things family-related. She spends her time fending off wild animals raising three boys with her husband, and enjoys long walks through Target while cradling a latte.

To book your birth or family session, or to schedule a free consultation, click here.

Hey, so if you’re married, or a parent, or in a long term relationship, you may need a reminder to invest in your loved one. I get it – ME TOO.

Life is busy and seems to sweep you up in the flow of routines and juggling schedules. This process, however unsexy, is normal and even vital for the functioning of a family, so please don’t beat yourself up about it.

But today, on the day of love, I invite you to take a deep breath, put down your phone, and just look into your partner’s eyes for a few minutes. Be still together. Let go of the to do list and the mental juggling and just breathe together.

Happy Valentine’s Day, from me to you. xoxoxo

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Emily Lapish is a lifestyle photographer in Chattanooga, TN specializing in all things family-related. She spends her time fending off wild animals raising three boys with her husband, and enjoys long walks through Target while cradling a hazelnut latte.

To book your birth or family session, or to schedule a free consultation, click here.

This little guy just couldn’t wait to join the rest of us! His mama had a c-section scheduled and on the books for months, but she went into spontaneous labor days early. As unexpected as it was, it went beautifully, and baby Kurt dazzled us all with his sweet disposition.

We rarely stop laughing when we spend time together; the Goldens are just like that. There’s nothing like genuine laughter and joy for making amazing pictures, and we somehow never run short on that in our sessions.

In all reality (regardless of the million excuses I hear from parents for not being photographed with their children), the only necessary ingredients for amazing photographs are:

Connection.
You love each other. I mean, sometimes life is frustrating (I KNOOOOW), but you do. There’s a reason you’re a family, and sometimes all it takes to remember how precious it is are photographs – visual proof that you can really enjoy each other. You love each other, so let it show!

Physical affection.
I know sometimes you don’t know what to do with your hands, or how to stand, or how to smile – so forget all that. If you don’t know what to do with your hands, touch someone you love. A hand on a shoulder, an arm around a waist, a kiss on the forehead.

Play.
Forget the stress of the camera, forget about wondering what to do or how to act, and focus on your family. Play together the way you do when no one’s watching.

Ability to let go of perfection.
Let me worry about the lighting, and your good side, and whether your kid smiles or throws a fit, and if your kid doesn’t want to participate. Sometimes the best images happen when your little introvert needs some alone time. Case in point: my favorite image from this session…..And that’s it. That’s all you need. Not “a perfect home” or “the right outfit” or “to lose ten pounds” or or or or or or or……

That’s all.

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Emily Lapish is a lifestyle photographer in Chattanooga, TN specializing in all things family-related. She spends her time fending off wild animals raising three boys with her husband, and enjoys long walks through Target while cradling a hazelnut latte.

To book your birth or family session, or to schedule a free consultation, click here.

There’s roughly ten million reasons why the holidays are awesome, and at the top of the list is peppermint flavored everything. But that’s not what this post is about. Coming in just under the peppermint thing is big family gatherings with fun people, and I LOVE photographing those. The Conroys are fun, delightfully chaotic (which is my favorite quality in a big family), and [obviously] photogenic.